Kazakhstan was among the top 10 global improvers in the World Bank's Doing Business report that assesses the ease of doing business across 190 economies worldwide. Climbing 16 positions to rank 35th, Kazakhstan also performed better than the other Central Asian country, the report released on October 25 showed.

Most notably with seven business reforms implemented, Kazakhstan led the world for a second consecutive year. Some of the reforms include the introduction of simplified postregistration procedures for small businesses and streamlining of the rules for enforcement proceedings. The country also improved process efficiency on getting electricity, while facilitating more reliable power supply and transparency of tariff information.

Kazakhstan was also among countries that allowed for the expansion of shareholders’ role in company management for the country’s companies. Moreover, the country removed two documents on exports and imports required for customs clearance, reducing the export documentary compliance time.

At the same time, Kazakhstan strengthened creditors’ rights by providing additional protections to creditors in the process of voting on the reorganisation plan. Finally, while changing labor legislation, Kazakhstan eliminated the requirement to reassign an employee to a different position before making the employee redundant, the report noted.

Mongolia was the second best performer in the region behind Kazakhstan, having settled in at 64th place, down two places from the previous ranking. Kyrgyzstan came next at 75th position, also down two spots from the previous year. The Central Asia’s most populous country, Uzbekistan, fell 5 places to rank 87th, while Tajikistan climbed two spots to rankt 128th.

Tajikistan’s notable reforms include the introduction of electronic invoices, the report read. The country also allowed road taxes to be paid electronically. Due to these reforms, medium-sized companies now make 12 payments per year, compared to 28 previously.

One of the world’s most isolated countries, Turkmenistan, was not included in the report.